The Joys of Socialism: Venezuela Forced to Import Oil for First Time in 100 Years

The joys of Socialism –
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This is NOT a manifestation, but a queue to buy food Venezuela. The result of 15 years of Socialist rule. (RGF3 Esq.)

The citizens even have to queue for gas.
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Venezuela: massive proven petrochemical reserves, yet people forced to queue to fill gas bottles. (Libertarian Rebel)

After 15 years of Marxist rule Venezuela will be forced to import oil.
Venezuela sits on top of the world’s largest oil reserves.
USA Today reported:

For the first time in its 100-year history of oil production, Venezuela is importing crude — a new embarrassment for the country with the world’s largest oil reserves.

The nation’s late president Hugo Chávez often boasted the South American country regained control of its oil industry after he seized joint ventures controlled by such companies as ExxonMobil and Conoco. But 19 months after Chávez’s death, the country can’t pump enough commercially viable oil out of the ground to meet domestic needs — a result of the former leader’s policies.

The dilemma — which comes as prices at U.S. pumps fall below $3 per gallon — is the latest facing the government, which has been forced to explain away shortages of basic goods such as toilet paper, food and medicine in the past year.

“The government has destroyed the rest of the economy, so why not the oil industry as well?” says Orlando Rivero, 50, a salesman in Caracas. “How much longer do we have to hear that the government’s economic policies are a success when all we see is one industry after another being affected?”

While Venezuela has more than 256 billion barrels of extra-heavy crude, the downside is that grade contains a lot of minerals and sulfur, along with the viscosity of molasses. To make it transportable and ready for traditional refining, the extra-heavy crude needs to have the minerals taken out in so-called upgraders, or have it diluted with lighter blends of oil.

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Hundreds wait in line at a supermarket in San Christóbal, Venezuela. All supermarkets here the same. Girish Gupta

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Jim Hoft is the founder and editor of The Gateway Pundit, one of the top conservative news outlets in America. Jim was awarded the Reed Irvine Accuracy in Media Award in 2013 and is the proud recipient of the Breitbart Award for Excellence in Online Journalism from the Americans for Prosperity Foundation in May 2016. In 2023, The Gateway Pundit received the Most Trusted Print Media Award at the American Liberty Awards.

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Thanks for sharing!